Hitch Hikes
Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011
I have been meaning to remark on the string of anticipatory comments attached to Weapon Brown 279 about what will become of Chuck when this (final???) story arc wraps. But first, let me acknowledge the passing of an important figure in American politics and letters.
Christopher Hitchens, the hard-drinking, hard-charging polemicist, author and bon vivant whose career gained added illumination in the past few years for his pungent attacks on religion, died today of esophageal cancer (sadly, he was also hard-smoking).
It is for his bruising critique of religion and the religious that I became a fan of Hitchens, but I quickly gained respect for the wit and education he brought to all his topics of interest, and for being a true scrapper for the Left while being willing to give them a rap on the chin when they deserved it as well.
Hitchens was a transplant from England who became a US citizen some years back, often citing Thomas Jefferson’s wall of separation between Church and State as America’s seminal contribution to the world. In debates (of which he participated in scores after the publication of his book God is Not Great) his unrelenting, Oxford-educated wit dominated the stage, never sounding better than when up against reedy twerps like Dinesh D’Souza. Love him or hate him, the guy crushed.
Hitchens planted coffee in Castro’s Cuba and supported the war in Iraq. He prepared a jail cell in Hell for Henry Kissenger and another in the same block for Mother Teresa. He was a contrarian for all seasons. (I’m worried that he might not have liked that last line, but he wouldn’t give a fuck about what someone like Christopher Hitchens thought of his writing, so neither will I.)
From Hitchens I gained an appreciation for George Orwell that extended beyond his well known fiction, an aggressive and mellifluous role model for political apolagetics (in fantasy debates I conduct in my head I often assume his voice), and a reminder that brains go better with balls.
We need him still. I’ll miss him.
hear, hear.
*lifts tumbler*
(no Johnnie Walker, so it’s Captain Morgan, but hey)
Wasn’t familiar with Hitchens, and to hear him described by other writers, he sounded kind of self important and colonial (re; Alexander Cockburn’s obit), but he seems generally well respected all around as one hell of a cantankerous wordsmith and debater. Captcha is giving off a cryptic, 21st century imperial scent: onletit Candahar,
But mostly, the picture you ran with reminded me of one of my favourite Youtube clips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoPofJeWuR0
Funny how many compassionate and forgiving Christians are saying Hitchens was struck down by God and is burning in hell as we speak. brb buying power tools
Looks surprisingly like my dad, who died of asbestos exposure. Which wasn’t the work of any god but the greed of a ‘good christian’ construction firm. Disgusted- You’re surprised that compassionate and forgiving christians would believe that their god would strike anyone down for not being a mindless and soulless zombie to ‘the book’? You forget that the cornerstone of christian beliefs (in fact most religions) is hypocrisy.
He was also an unrepentant imperialist and misogynist.
He did volunteer to be water boarded, though, so maybe he’s suffered enough.
I would disagree with both sentiments, but feel free to expand on them.
Call it what you want:
“From: Citat din Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction de Adam Jones
Quote
Celebrations of indigenous genocide also have no clear parallel in mainstream discourse. Thus one finds prominent essayist Christopher Hitchens describing protests over the Columbus quincentenary as “an ignorant celebration of stasis and backwardness, with an unpleasant tinge of self-hatred.†For Hitchens, the destruction of Native American civilization was simply “the way that history is made, and to complain about it is as empty as complaint about climatic, geological or tectonic shift.†He justified the conquest on classic utilitarian grounds:
Quote
It is sometimes unambiguously the case that a certain coincidence of ideas, technologies, population movements and politico-military victories leaves humanity on a slightly higher plane than it knew before. The transformation of part of the northern part of this continent into “America†inaugurated a nearly boundless epoch of opportunity and innovation, and thus deserves to be celebrated with great vim and gusto, with or without the participation of those who wish they had never been born.”
Add to that his support for the Iraq war, and his fear of “radical Islam” over other dangers far closer to home, and a picture starts to emerge.
Speaking of singing in the shower:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mWW6kRITEY
Stupid toys – youtube.com/watch?v=yBOISElGEMg
personal rotelse
The fact that Hitchens was a talented writer with a charismatic personality is what made it so disgusting that he chose to use his talents and powers to promote an illegal, immoral, despicable war. Escpecially since it seems that a big part of his motivation for turning war-monger was a desire for status as a political insider.